Overcome Your Anxiety By Having An "Anxious Routine" to Break Out Of It

When a stressful situation starts to make your anxiety kick in, it’s easy for your brain to get lost down the worry rabbit hole.

To counteract this, give yourself an anxiety routine to run through when you feel it creeping up.

As producer and writer Brian Koppelman explains, it’s easier to manage your anxiety when you have a routine that’s familiar to help calm you down. Whether it’s meditating, going for a walk, or just separating yourself from the situation, doing the same calming thing whenever your anxiety spikes signals to your brain and body that it’s time to calm down. Business site Inc. offers a number of options:

Other favored routines of survey participants included: having a drink, going on a bike ride, laying in the sun, remaining in the moment rather than letting your mind race to outcomes that don’t even exist yet, taking deep breaths, setting aside 5 minutes every morning after waking up to think about your day, reading something inspiring, listening to podcasts, learning new skills (skiing, calligraphy, karate), listening to people with empathy, visualizing your process and where you want to get to, and going to a spa to soak and clear your mind completely.

Of course, dealing with everyday anxiety and a full-blown anxiety disorder aren’t the same thing. If you’re struggling with the latter, a routine couldn’t hurt but you might still need to talk to someone for more help. However, if you’re just stressed and worrying yourself over your job or relationships, take a moment to go through your routine before you panic yourself.

This article was written by Eric Ravenscraft from Lifehacker and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.

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